ВИБОРЧА ГАЗЕТА

Trump Asks Court to Block FBI From Reviewing Documents Seized From Mar-a-lago

Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump have asked a federal court to temporarily block the FBI from reviewing documents recovered from his Florida estate until a special master can be appointed to separate material covered by executive privilege. 

Federal investigators are probing whether Trump illegally kept records after the end of his presidential term.  

The FBI seized 11 sets of classified material from Trump’s estate earlier this month, including some labeled with the nation’s highest level of classification that can only be viewed in designated government facilities. The National Archives also removed boxes from the estate earlier this year that should have been turned over to the agency when Trump left office. 

Trump has criticized the proceedings, and his legal filing called the Aug. 8 2022, FBI search a “shockingly aggressive move.” 

The U.S. Justice Department responded that a federal judge authorized the search after the FBI showed probable cause that a crime had been committed. 

The New York Times reported Monday that the government has recovered more than 300 classified documents from Trump’s estate, including material from the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI. 

Following the August search, Trump’s lawyers asked a federal magistrate to make public the FBI affidavit detailing the probable cause for conducting the search. 

The Justice Department opposed the move, saying it would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation, and the magistrate said Monday that while that concern is legitimate, he does not believe the document should remain sealed in its entirety. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
…

Trump Seeks Special Master to Review Mar-a-Lago Documents

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Monday asked a federal judge to prevent the FBI from continuing to review documents recovered from his Florida estate earlier this month until a neutral special master can be appointed. 

The attorneys asserted in a court filing, their first since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago two weeks ago, that the sets of documents taken from the residence were “presumptively” covered by executive privilege. 

“This matter has captured the attention of the American public. Merely ‘adequate’ safeguards are not acceptable when the matter at hand involves not only the constitutional rights of President Trump, but also the presumption of executive privilege,” the attorneys wrote. 

Separately Monday, a federal judge acknowledged that redactions to an FBI affidavit spelling out the basis for the search might be so extensive as to make the document “meaningless” if released to the public. But he said he continued to believe it should not remain sealed in its entirety because of the “intense” public interest in the investigation. 

A written order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart largely restates what he said in court last week, when he directed the Justice Department to propose redactions about the information in the affidavit that it wants to remain secret. That submission is due Thursday at noon. 

Justice Department officials have sought to keep the entire document sealed, saying disclosing any portion of it risks compromising an ongoing criminal investigation, revealing information about witnesses and divulging investigative techniques. They have advised the judge that the necessary redactions to the affidavit would be so numerous that they would strip the document of any substantive information and make it effectively meaningless for the public. 

Reinhart acknowledged that possibility in his Monday order, writing, “I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the Government.” 

Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, have urged the judge to unseal additional records tied to this month’s search of Mar-a-Lago, when FBI officials said they recovered 11 sets of classified documents, including top secret records, from the Florida estate. 

Of particular interest is the affidavit supporting the search, which presumably contains key details about the Justice Department’s investigation examining whether Trump retained and mishandled classified and sensitive government records. Trump and some of his supporters have also called for the document to be released, hoping it will expose what they contend was government overreach. 

In his written ruling, Reinhart said the Justice Department had a compelling interest in preventing the affidavit from being released in its entirety. But he said he did not believe it should remain fully sealed, and said he was not persuaded by the department’s arguments that the redaction process “imposes an undue burden on its resources.” 

“Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the Government has not yet shown that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing,” he wrote. 

 
…

DOJ in Quandary as It Mulls Disclosing Trump Search Document

A federal judge has given the U.S. Justice Department one week to redact an affidavit used to justify the recent search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence before the rest of the document could be made public.

The document is being sought by a group of news outlets following the unprecedented search that was carried out as part of an ongoing federal investigation of Trump’s handling of classified documents that he took to Mar-a-Lago.

The court-issued warrant used to search Trump’s residence was unsealed last week, showing that Trump is under investigation for several potential crimes including obstruction of justice and a possible violation of the Espionage Act. The law makes it a crime to obtain and release national defense information that could be used to harm the United States and benefit its enemies.

But prosecutors oppose unsealing the more sensitive affidavit, the legal document they presented to a judge to obtain the search warrant.

Jay Bratt, the head of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence and export control section, argued that the document contains so much sensitive information that redacting it would practically render it worthless.

“There would be nothing of substance,” Bratt said during Thursday’s hearing with U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart.

The search of Trump’s residence during which agents removed 11 sets of classified documents he had taken from the White House and failed to turn over to the National Archives has set off an angry backlash from the former president and his allies.

Trump claims he had a “standing order” to declassify all documents removed from the Oval Office, a notion questioned by many national security experts.

The FBI investigation of Trump’s handling of the classified documents is in its early stages, Bratt said in court Thursday.

The sought-after affidavit would almost certainly reveal far more information about the investigation than did the search warrant, said Jordan Strauss, a former Justice Department official now a managing director at Kroll, an investigation and risk consultancy.

“If, for example, there’s a confidential human informant or other source of information, it could reveal that,” Strauss said in an interview. “And while there is no indication that this is the case, if there was a wiretap, if there was an anonymous tip given to the FBI or another law enforcement agency, or if there are other sources or methods in which information is being gathered, like if there were a cooperating individual or a cooperating defendant whose indictment is under seal — all of that could become public if there was no significant redaction.”

An affidavit, typically filed by an FBI agent, outlines the type of crime under investigation, the reason prosecutors believe evidence of that crime can be found at the location, and the source of the government’s information.

In general, an affidavit is released once a defendant is charged with a crime, but not while an investigation is ongoing.

In deciding whether to disclose the affidavit, the government finds itself in a quandary, said Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor who is now a law professor at Columbia University in New York.

“On one hand, if you really do strain to protect all confidential sources and keep investigations quiet to the extent possible, then you’ll be tossing out this odd series of sentences that will become a Rorschach test for the American public,” Richman said in an interview. “Those looking for a reason to believe that this is a witch hunt, will find some. Those inclined to think the government has reason to go forward with this search will be satisfied.”

“Having a ragtag document floating around might not serve anyone’s purpose and even more will create this really bad precedent of the media thinking that they could always push for release of at least some portion of an affidavit in high-profile cases,” Richman said.

But news outlets say given the historic significance of searching a former president’s home, releasing the affidavit is in the public interest.

“The raid on Mar-a-Lago by the FBI is already one of the most significant law enforcement events in the nation’s history,” Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the media groups, said during the hearing. 
…

Trump Wouldn’t Be First Former World Leader Facing Criminal Charges

Experts say the unsealing of court documents Thursday sharpens the focus on former President Donald Trump as a possible subject of a criminal investigation into his removal and storage of sensitive documents from the White House. As VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, the U.S. has now joined other democratic countries in investigating a former leader.
Camera: Celia Mendoza
…

Biden Administration Strengthens Hostage Policy

Hostage negotiations are a delicate test in diplomacy and are handled at the highest levels of the American government. The Biden administration recently clarified its stance on this issue — but does this come in time for the release of several high-profile hostages held overseas? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington.
…